10.  The applicant, who is of Kurdish origin, was born in 1979 in Syria and is currently living in Northern Iraq. He is married with three children.
11.  The applicant left Syria on 7 January 2005 and entered Cyprus illegally on 10 February 2005 after travelling from Turkey.
12.  He applied for asylum on 17 February 2005.
13.  On 15 October 2007 the applicant married in Cyprus a Kurdish woman from Turkey. His wife had applied for asylum in 2004 when she came to Cyprus with her parents and siblings.
14.  The Asylum Service held an interview with the applicant on 1 August 2008.
15.  His application was dismissed by the Asylum Service on 13 August 2008 on the ground that the applicant did not fulfil the requirements of the Refugee Law of 2000-2004 (as amended up to 2004), namely, he had not shown a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular group or political opinion or a well-founded fear of serious and unjustified harm for other reasons. The Asylum Service noted that the reason for which the applicant had left Syria was not at all relevant to the conditions set out in Article 3 of the Refugee Law and Article 1 of the Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (1951). Further, the Asylum Service considered that there was no possibility that the applicant would be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment if he returned to Syria. It observed that contradictions had been identified between the applicant’s written application and the statements he had made during his interview which affected the credibility of his claims. In particular, he had given different reasons for leaving Syria in his interview from those given in his application.
16.  On 2 September 2008 the applicant lodged an appeal with the Reviewing Authority for Refugees against the Asylum Service’s decision.
17.  It appears that on 20 May 2009 the applicant applied for a temporary residence permit.
18.  On 5 June 2009 the Asylum Service’s decision was upheld and the appeal dismissed.
19.  The Reviewing Authority observed that the applicant had not given the same reasons for leaving Syria in his written application and in his interview. In the former he had stated that he had come to Cyprus “for living” whereas in his interview he claimed that he had left Syria because he had been persecuted by the family of a girl with whom he had eloped and had a sexual relationship. She had been killed by her family and they were after him. The applicant had also claimed that someone else had filled in the asylum application form on his behalf but then had stated that he had filled it in himself. He had also stated that he did not remember the contents of his application. The Reviewing Authority considered that if the applicant’s life was in danger he would have remembered the reasons for which he left Syria and thus what he had written in his application form. As the Reviewing Authority considered that the applicant’s claims were not credible they did not accept the documents he submitted concerning his claim of persecution by the girl’s family. It therefore found that the application was unsubstantiated.
20.  The Reviewing Authority concluded by observing that the applicant had not established that he was at risk of persecution if he returned to Syria. Nor did he satisfy the conditions for temporary residence on humanitarian grounds.
21.  It appears that his wife’s asylum application was also rejected by the authorities and her appeal thereto was dismissed by the Reviewing Authority on 5 August 2009.
22.  On 13 August 2009 the applicant brought a recourse before the Supreme Court (first-instance revisional jurisdiction) under Article 146 of the Constitution challenging the decision of the Reviewing Authority.
23.  On 28 August 2009 deportation and detention orders were issued against the applicant and his wife pursuant to section 14 (6) of the Aliens and Immigration Law on the ground that they were “prohibited immigrants” within the meaning of section 6(1)(k) and (l) of that Law (see M.A. v. Cyprus, no. 41872/10, §§ 62-63, ECHR 2013 (extracts)). The applicant was arrested and detained on the basis of these orders. However, as at the time, the applicant had two children that were still infants, his wife was not arrested on humanitarian grounds and the deportation order against her was suspended.
24.  On 12 October 2009 instructions were given by the Minister of the Interior to proceed with the deportation of the applicant and his family.
25.  By a letter dated 15 October 2009, the Civil Registry and Migration Department informed the applicant that following the negative decision of the Reviewing Authority, his application of 20 May 2009 for a residence permit (see paragraph 17 above) had been rejected and that he was requested to proceed to all necessary arrangements so as to depart from the territory of the Republic of Cyprus at once.
26.  By a letter dated 29 October 2009 the District Aliens and Immigration Branch of the Larnaca Police requested instructions from the Ministry of the Interior concerning the deportation of the applicant and his family as it transpired, following consultation with the Syrian Embassy, that it was not possible to issue a permit to the applicant’s wife to enter Syria due to the fact that she did not have a passport.
27.  By letter dated 13 November 2009, the NGO “Future World Centre”, complained to the Minister of the Interior and the Director of Social Services, of the living conditions of the applicant and his family and requested that a temporary residence permit be granted to them so they could receive benefits and have access to health care, at least until the Supreme Court gave judgment in the applicant’s recourse. According to the documents in the file this request was rejected.
28.  On 10 December 2009 the Minister of the Interior revoked the deportation and detention orders and the applicant was released. According to the documents in the file, it appears that the applicant was requested to formalise his residence in Cyprus but he did not take any steps in this respect.
29.  On 7 May 2010 the applicant applied to the Reviewing Authority for the reopening of his file.
30.  By letter dated 11 May 2010 the Reviewing Authority informed him that it did not have the competence to take a decision as to the reopening of the file as the recourse proceedings concerning its decision of 5 June 2009 were still pending before the Supreme Court. The applicant had to wait for the Supreme Court to give judgment in those proceedings.
31.  The applicant lodged an application with the Court on 14 June 2010. In his application form he stated that on 13 March 2004 he had taken part in a demonstration in his village in Derit. The purpose of the demonstration was to go to Qamishli to show solidarity with the Kurdish demonstrators following the events of 12 March 2004. Following the intervention of the authorities this had not been possible. The applicant stated that the police had attacked the demonstrators killing two persons. After going into hiding for a month in a neighbouring village, the applicant was arrested in Qamishli. He was detained for fourteen days and subjected to ill-treatment. He was subsequently transferred to the central prison of Damascus where he was detained for two and a half months. After bribing the authorities he was released on the condition that he would present himself to the authorities in Damascus every fifteen days. He did not do so, however, out of fear of being detained and tortured again. He subsequently found out that an arrest warrant had been issued against him. He submitted that after these events he had asked the girl he loved to marry him but her family had not consented. She then left her family to be with him. On 29 December 2004 the family managed to track her down. They killed her because she had dishonoured the family and were looking for him. The applicant decided to leave Syria as he feared that he would either be detained or ill-treated by the police or killed by the girl’s family.
32.  It appears subsequently that the Reviewing Authority decided to examine the applicant’s request for the reopening of his asylum application despite the ongoing proceedings before the Supreme Court. In his application the applicant relied on a document in Arabic which had been translated into Greek by the Government’s Press and Information Office (“PIO”). The translation had a stamp that the PIO could not guarantee the authenticity of the document. According to the Government, the document was a copy. The applicant, however, stated that he had submitted the original document to the Reviewing Authority the day after his interview. According to the contents of the document, it was from the Department of Civil Security of Al-Hasakah of the Syrian Ministry of the Interior. It was dated 15 May 2005 and was addressed to the Directorate of Immigration and Passports in Damascus. It instructed the latter Service to arrest and surrender four individuals, including the applicant. It stated that all immigration departments and border check controls should be mobilised to prevent these four persons, who were sought by the authorities, from fleeing.
33.  The Reviewing Authority held an interview with the applicant on 11 May 2011 and on 26 May 2011 it dismissed the application.
34.  In its decision the Reviewing Authority noted that the applicant had stated that the above document had made its way to him from Syria through Lebanon and that he had received it on 10 May 2010. He claimed that it referred to the Qamishli events and that the persons named in it were sought by the authorities for their participation in those events. The Reviewing Authority, however, pointed out that the document made no reference to these events. It considered that the applicant was not aware of the actual contents of the document and had not produced the original document. Furthermore, the translation of the document had been certified by the PIO on 5 May 2010 and therefore had been in the applicant’s hands before 10 May 2010. In addition, the Reviewing Authority noted the contradictions between the first interview with the Asylum Service and his second interview. In the former he had stated that he had left Syria legally but in the latter that he had left illegally, after having bribed officials to secure a passport and leave the country. Furthermore, the applicant had not claimed that he risked political persecution in his asylum application, interview or appeal. Overall, the Reviewing Authority held that the applicant’s claims lacked coherence, were inconsistent and therefore were not credible.
35.  The Reviewing Authority concluded that the applicant had not been able to show that he risked persecution on political grounds or that he was eligible for complementary protection. Nor did he satisfy the conditions for temporary residence on humanitarian grounds.
36.  On 31 January 2012 the Supreme Court dismissed the applicant’s recourse. The Supreme Court upheld the Reviewing Authority’s decision of 5 June 2009. The court noted, inter alia, that the Reviewing Authority’s conclusions as to the lack of credibility of the applicant’s claims mainly due to the existence of significant contradictions were reasonable. As the applicant’s claims were not plausible, the documents he submitted could not stand alone and substantiate his asylum application. There was therefore no need to give any weight to these documents. Further, the applicant had left Syria for personal reasons and that these did not fall within those provided by the relevant law for granting refugee status. The Supreme Court held that the applicant had failed to substantiate that he was at risk of persecution if returned to Syria.
37.  No appeal was lodged against the first instance judgment.
38.  In the meantime, on 17 May 2010 the Yekiti Party and other Kurds from Syria organised a demonstration in Nicosia, near the Representation of the European Commission, the Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance and the Government Printing Office. They were protesting against the restrictive policies of the Cypriot Asylum Service in granting international protection. About 150 Kurds from Syria, including the applicant, remained in the area around the clock, having set up about eighty tents on the pavement. According to the Government, the encampment conditions were unsanitary and protesters were obstructing road and pedestrian traffic. The encampment had become a hazard to public health and created a public nuisance. The protesters performed their daily chores on the pavement, including cooking and washing in unsanitary conditions. The sewage pits had overflown, causing a nuisance and offensive odours. The public lavatories were dirty and the rubbish bins of the Government buildings were being used and, as a result, were continuously overflowing. Furthermore, the protesters were unlawfully obtaining electricity from the Printing Office. Members of the public who lived or worked in the area had complained to the authorities. The Government submitted that efforts had been made by the authorities to persuade the protesters to leave, but to no avail. As a result, the authorities had decided to take action to remove the protesters from the area.
39.  On 28 May 2010 instructions were given by the Minister of the Interior to proceed with the deportation of Syrian-Kurdish failed asylum seekers in the normal way.
40.  On 31 May 2010 the Minister requested the Chief of Police, among others, to take action in order to implement his instructions. Further, he endorsed suggestions made by the competent authorities that deportation and detention orders be issued against Syrian-Kurdish failed asylum seekers who had passports and did not have Ajanib or Maktoumeen status and that the police execute the orders starting with the ones issued against the leaders of the protesters. The police were also directed to take into account the policy guidelines and to use discreet methods of arrest.
41.  According to the Government, letters were sent by the Civil Registry and Migration Department to a number of failed Syrian-Kurdish asylum-seekers informing them that they had to make arrangements to leave Cyprus in view of their asylum applications being turned down (see M.A., cited above, § 32)
42.  From documents submitted by the Government it appears that from 31 May until 7 June 2010 the authorities kept the area under surveillance and kept a record of the protesters’ daily activities and of all comings and goings. In the relevant records it is noted that invariably, between 1.30 a.m. and 5.30 a.m., things were, in general, quiet, and everyone was sleeping apart from those keeping guard. During the above-mentioned period a large-scale operation was organised by the Police Emergency Response Unit, “ERU” (“ΜΜΑΔ”), and a number of other authorities, including the Police Aliens and Immigration Unit, for the removal of the protesters and their transfer to the ERU headquarters for the purpose of ascertaining their status on a case-by-case basis.
43.  In the meantime, between 28 May 2010 and 2 June 2010 orders for the detention and deportation of forty-five failed asylum seekers were issued following background checks. Letters were sent by the District Aliens and Immigration Branch of the Nicosia Police to the Director of the Aliens and Immigration Service and the Ministry of Justice and Public Order, containing a short paragraph with information as to the immigration status of each person. This information included the date of rejection of the asylum application or the closure of the asylum file by the Asylum Service, the date of dismissal of the appeal by the Reviewing Authority, where lodged, and the date some of those concerned had been included on the authorities’ “stop list” (a register of individuals whose entry into and exit from Cyprus is banned or subject to monitoring). The letters recommended the issuance of deportation and detention orders. The Government submitted copies of two such letters with information concerning thirteen people.
44.  On 2 June 2010, letters were also prepared in English by the Civil Registry and Migration Department informing those concerned of the decision to detain and deport them. The Government submitted that, at the time, the authorities did not know whether those individuals were among the protesters.
45.  The removal operation was carried out on 11 June 2010, between approximately 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. with the participation of about 250 officers from the Police Aliens and Immigration Unit, the ERU, the Nicosia District Police Division, the Traffic Division, the Fire Service and the Office for Combating Discrimination of the Cyprus Police Headquarters. The protesters, including the applicants, were led to buses, apparently without any reaction or resistance on their part. At 3.22 a.m. the mini buses carrying the male protesters left. The women, children and babies followed at 3.35 a.m. A total of 149 people were located at the place of protest and were transferred to the ERU headquarters: eighty-seven men, twenty-two women and forty children. Upon arrival, registration took place and the status of each person was examined using computers which had been specially installed the day before. The Government submitted that during this period the protesters had not been handcuffed or put in cells but had been assembled in rooms and given food and drink. It appears from the documents submitted by the Government that by 6.40 a.m. the identification of approximately half of the group had been completed and that the whole operation had ended by 4.30 p.m.
46.  It was ascertained that seventy-six of the adults, along with their thirty children, were in the Republic unlawfully. Their asylum applications had either been dismissed or their files closed for failure to attend interviews. Those who had appealed to the Reviewing Authority had had their appeals dismissed. Some final decisions dated back to 2006. A number of people had also been included on the authorities’ “stop list”. Deportation orders had already been issued for twenty-three of them (see paragraph 43 above).
47.  The authorities deported twenty-two people on the same day at around 6.30 p.m. (nineteen adults and three children). Forty-four people (forty-two men and two women), including the applicant, were arrested. The persons against whom deportation and detention orders had been issued on 2 June 2010 were detained under these orders. The remaining persons, including the applicant, were charged with the criminal offence of unlawful stay in the Republic under section 19(2) of the Aliens and Immigration Law (see M.A., cited above, § 65). They were all arrested and transferred to various detention centres in Cyprus. The applicant was placed in the Larnaca Police Station Detention facility. Further, on humanitarian grounds, thirteen women whose husbands were detained pending deportation and who had a total of twenty-seven children between them were not arrested themselves.
48.  According to the Government the applicant and his co-detainees were informed orally that they had been arrested and detained on the basis that they had been staying in the Republic unlawfully and were thus “prohibited immigrants” (see M.A., cited above, § 62). They were also informed of their rights pursuant to the Rights of Persons Arrested and Detained Law 2005 (Law 163(I)/2005) (see M.A, cited above, § 93) and, in particular, of their right to contact by phone, in person and in private, a lawyer of their own choice. The applicant submitted that he had not been informed of the reasons for his arrest and detention on that date.
49.  On the same day letters were sent by the District Aliens and Immigration Branch of the Nicosia Police to the Director of the Aliens and Immigration Service and the Ministry of Justice and Public Order, recommending the issuance of deportation and detention orders. The letters contained a short paragraph in respect of each person with information as to his or her immigration status. This included the date of rejection of the asylum application or the closure of the asylum file by the Asylum Service and the date of dismissal of the appeal by the Reviewing Authority where lodged. Some letters also referred to the date the asylum application had been lodged and the date some of the individuals concerned had been included on the authorities’ “stop list”. The Government submitted copies of letters concerning thirty-seven people (most of these letters referred to groups of people).
50.  Deportation and detention orders were also issued in Greek on the same day in respect of the remaining fifty-three people detained (see paragraph 46 above), including the applicant, pursuant to section 14 (6) of the Aliens and Immigration Law on the ground that they were “prohibited immigrants” within the meaning of section 6(1)(k) of that Law. These were couched in identical terms. In respect of two people the orders also mentioned sections 6(1)(i) and 6(1)(l) of the Law.
51.  Subsequently, on the same date, letters were prepared in English by the Civil Registry and Migration Department informing all the detainees individually, including the applicant, of the decision to detain and deport them. The Government submitted thirty-seven copies of these letters, including that addressed to the applicant, the text of which was virtually identical, a standard template having been used.
The text of the letter reads as follows:
“You are hereby informed that you are an illegal immigrant by virtue of paragraph (k). section 1, Article 6 of the Aliens and Immigration law, Chapter 105, as amended until 2009, because you of illegal entry [sic]
Consequently your temporary residence permit/migration permit has been revoked and I have proceeded with the issue of deportation orders and detention orders dated 11th June 2010 against you.
You have the right to be represented before me or before any other Authority of the Republic and express possible objections against your deportation and seek the services of an interpreter.”
52.  The only differences were that some letters referred to illegal stay rather than illegal entry and that the letters issued earlier referred to 2 June 2010 as the date of issuance of the deportation and detention orders (see paragraph 44 above).
53.  On the copy of the letter to the applicant provided by the Government, there is a handwritten signed note by a police officer stating that the letter was served on the applicant on 18 June 2010 but that he had refused to receive and sign it. The other letters had a similar note or stamp on them with the same date, stating that the person concerned had refused to sign for and/or receive the letter. In a letter dated 7 September 2010 the Government stated that the applicant had been served on 18 June 2010. In their subsequent observations the Government submitted, however, that this was the second attempt to serve the letters, the first attempt having been made on 11 June 2010, that is, the day of the arrest.
54.  The applicant submitted that he had never refused to receive any kind of information in writing. He claimed that it had only been on 14 June 2010 that he had been informed orally that he would be deported to Syria on the same day but that the deportation and detention orders were not served on him on that date or subsequently. He submitted that he had eventually been informed by his lawyer, following the receipt of information submitted by the Government to the Court in the context of the application of Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, that deportation and detention orders had been issued against him.
55.  From the documents submitted by the Government, it appears that at least another fourteen of the detainees were to be deported on 14 June 2010 (this figure is stated in documents submitted by the Government with no further details).
56.  On 10 March 2011 the applicant escaped from Larnaca Police Station Detention facility. The applicant submitted that he fell during his escape and suffered injuries. He went to hospital for treatment and then gave himself up to the police. The Government submitted that the applicant had been found on the same day and was taken to hospital as he had suffered injuries. The applicant remained in hospital until 31 March 2011 and was then transferred back to Larnaca Police Station Detention facility. The police investigation file concerning the applicant’s escape was sent to the Attorney-General who decided not to bring criminal proceedings against him. The applicant submitted that in the context of the investigation, the authorities arrested and detained his wife at the above facility and that their children were placed under the care of the Welfare Services.
57.  The applicant was released on 20 April 2011 following revocation of the deportation and detention orders of 11 June 2010 by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior. The applicant submitted that his wife had been released on the same day. The applicant also submitted that he had not been given any information as to his residence status or the conditions of his release apart from having to report to the police once a month. The applicant’s representative sent a number of letters to the authorities in this connection.
58.  In the meantime, on 17 January 2011 the applicant filed a habeas corpus application with the Supreme Court claiming that his continued detention from 11 June 2010 had violated Article 15 of Directive 2008/115/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals, “the EU Returns Directive”. The applicant, relying on the Court’s judgment in Chahal v. the United Kingdom, 15 November 1996, (Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1996‑V) and the Commission’s report in Samie Ali v. Switzerland (no. 24881/94, Commission’s report of 26 February 1997) also claimed that his detention had breached Article 11 (2) of the Constitution and Article 5 § 1 of the Convention. The application was made on the same grounds as those made by M.A., § 50, cited above).
59.  The Supreme Court set the application for directions for 25 January 2011. On that date the Government asked for leave until 1 February 2011 to file, if they decided to do so, an objection to the application. The habeas corpus application was set for directions for the above date. In the end, the Government filed an objection and the application was set for hearing on 10 February 2011. On that date the Government requested the hearing to be postponed as three other similar habeas corpus applications filed were pending before another judge before the Supreme Court and judgment had been reserved (see M.A., cited above, §§ 50-51 and A.H. and J.K v. Cyprus, nos. 41903/10 and 41911/10, § 51, 21 July 2015). The applicant objected. The Supreme Court accepted the request and postponed the hearing until 24 February 2011. Although it acknowledged that this type of application should be tried as quickly as possible, it held that it was in the interests of justice in view of the applications pending before another judge with similar issues, to give some time in the event judgment was given in the other cases. It noted, however, there would be no more adjournments and if the judgments in the other applications were not given by the above date it would proceed with the hearing of the application before it.
60.  On 24 February 2011 the parties appeared before the court. Although judgments had been delivered on 23 February 2011 dismissing the other applications, the applicant decided to go ahead and maintain his application. The parties submitted their written addresses and the hearing of the application was held. Judgment was reserved on the same day.
61.  On 8 March 2011 the Supreme Court dismissed the application. It adopted the reasoning in the judgments given by the Supreme Court on 23 February 2011 in the other applications (see M.A; cited above, §§ 50-53 and A.H. and J.K., §§ 48-54).
62.  The applicant lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court (appellate jurisdiction) on 17 March 2011. Another three appeals were lodged at the same time (see M.A., §§ 54 and A.H. and J.K., cited above, § 55).
63.  The applicant sent a letter along with the other appellants dated 13 April 2011 to the Registrar of the Supreme Court requesting that the appeals be fixed for pre-trial within a “short period of time” and then for hearing.
64.  The applicant was released on 20 April 2011 (see paragraph 57 above).
65.  On 15 July 2011 the Supreme Court informed the applicant that his appeal had been set down for hearing for 12 September 2011.
66.  On 7 September 2011 the applicant’s lawyer filed an application for joining the four appeals (see paragraph 62 above).
67.  On 12 September 2011 the Supreme Court issued an order joining the appeals and also instructed the parties to file their written addresses. The applicant submitted that on this date the court was informed that he had been released.
68.  On 8 November 2011 the applicant filed an application requesting an extension of twenty days for filing his written address. This was filed on 28 November 2011.
69.  On 17 March 2012 the appeals were set for directions.
70.  On 18 July 2012 the Government filed an application requesting the parties to appear before the Supreme Court and requested a forty-day extension for filing their written address. This was granted and the appeals were set down for hearing on 11 September 2012.
71.  In the meantime, the Government filed their written address on 28 August 2012.
72.  On 11 September 2012 the hearing was held and judgment was reserved.
73.  The appeals were dismissed on 15 October 2012. The Supreme Court held that as the applicant had, in the meantime, been released, the application was without object (see M.A., cited above, § 55).
74.  In the meantime, on Saturday, 12 June 2010, the applicant, along with forty-three other persons of Kurdish origin, submitted a Rule 39 request in order to prevent their imminent deportation to Syria.
75.  On 14 June 2010 the President of the First Section decided to apply Rule 39, indicating to the respondent Government that the detainees should not be deported to Syria until the Court had had the opportunity to receive and examine all the documents pertaining to their claim. The parties were requested under Rule 54 § 2 (a) of the Rules of Court to submit information and documents concerning the asylum applications and the deportation.
76.  On 21 September 2010 the President of the First Section reconsidered the application of Rule 39 in the light of information provided by the parties. He decided to maintain the interim measure in respect of five cases, including the present one. Rule 39 was lifted with regard to the thirty-nine remaining cases (for further details see M.A., cited above, § 58).
77.  By letter dated 12 June 2012 the applicant’s representative informed the Court that the applicant had left Cyprus with his family and was living in the Kurdish area of Northern Iraq.
78.  On the basis of the above information, on 14 June 2012, the President of the Section, decided to lift the measure indicated under Rule 39.
79.  By letter dated 29 June 2012 the applicant’s representative notified the Court that she had established contact with the applicant and that he had informed her that he wished to pursue the application.
80.  By fax dated 6 November 2012 the applicant confirmed that he had left Cyprus with his family and was in Northern Iraq. He provided an asylum certificate from UNCHR in Iraq dated 23 September 2012.
81.  Rule 39 was also lifted with regard to another two cases in the course of the proceedings before the Court (see paragraph 76 above).